If you ask 10 Christians what they think is the most important thing about Jesus, 9.75 will say either the Resurrection or the Crucifixion. Those are both central to the story, but I would say that it is the Incarnation. Now, if you have worshiped with us at Calvary more than a couple of times, you would have heard this before, so please bear with me. If you haven’t, you might be like me; I never heard about this growing up, and it was rarely stressed in the churches I served. For me, though, it is what matters the most. Without the Incarnation, the church would never have existed, and Jesus would never have existed.
The word literally means “made meat” (think Chili Con Carne). God made flesh, which is the point of the introduction to the Gospel of John. Whenever I listened to that opening passage as a child, my eyes would roll up and I would pass out from boredom. It does seem to go on forever, doesn’t it? And yet, it is focusing on the true nature, from a follower of Jesus’ perspective, of who Jesus was and is and also will be. The writer even included John the Baptist, telling us that John was the messenger, not the Messiah. John was made the old-fashioned way; Jesus was not. And sure, there are others in history who it was claimed were made the way Jesus was; that’s another Today’s Thought entirely. For Jesus to be special, He had to be God in human form. That’s why His death was so alarming for His followers. God died.
If it isn’t for the Incarnation, Jesus is just another good guy who did a good thing and was punished for it. Without the Incarnation, there is no Virgin Birth (another very controversial idea) and there is no death and resurrection of any significance. The question, When did Jesus become God? was an ongoing controversy in the first couple of centuries of the Church’s development, and the conclusion that won was that God is God and Jesus was with God – was God – always. Which led to the Trinity. If Jesus could become God, then anyone could. If we did enough good things, you and I could be transformed into God. There are some who believe this as well – again, for another day.
It is the Incarnation, in fact, that makes us different from other religions; it’s why Jesus was dismissed by many of His own people. To claim oneness with God was a crime of idolatry, punishable by death. Of course, that isn’t why Jesus died – He crossed paths with the Romans and didn’t live to tell the tale. I believe that God – in the form of Jesus – came to start the Kingdom of God. He got too political, so the Romans whacked Him. God responded by bringing Him back to life. God became flesh and learned what it was like to be us. That changed everything.
Prayer – Help us to get through each day with doubts, questions, and concerns, O God of all the answers; and help us to live with the uncertainty and mystery. Amen.
Today’s art is an example of an Orthodox icon of the Incarnation. By the way – St. Constantine’s and Helen’s Greek Orthodox Church has their festival this weekend – don’t miss it!